Richard Wolff teaches at the New School in New York. The New York Times called him “America’s most prominent Marxist economist.” He is the author of numerous books including Capitalism Hits the Fan, Democracy at Work and Occupy the Economy with David Barsamian.

Scientists' reports about global warming are becoming more and more pessimistic. Will rising sea levels, drought, crop failure and water wars become so severe that humanity's existence itself is threatened? Co-hosts Peter Phillips & Julie Andrzejewski speak first with David Ray Griffin, author of the new book, "Unprecedented." Then Dahr Jamail, climate writer at Truthout, joins the discussion.

Host Chris Andreae speaks with Tao Orion about her new book "Beyond the War on Invasive Species: A Permaculture Approach to Ecosystem Restoration."

Invasive species are everywhere, from forests and prairies to mountaintops and river mouths. Their rampant nature and sheer numbers appear to overtake fragile native species and forever change the ecosystems that they depend on. These worries have culminated in an ongoing “war on invasive species,” where the arsenal is stocked with bulldozers, chainsaws, and herbicides put to the task of their immediate eradication.

Host Jennifer Kemp interviews Joel Westheimer about his book,"What Kind of Citizen? Educating Our Children for the Common Good."

How can schools teach the skills required for a strong democracy to flourish? "What Kind of Citizen?" asks readers to imagine the kind of society they would like to live in-and then shows the ways in which schools can be used to make that vision a reality.

Mary Christina Wood has taught Environmental Law for over 20 years and is Faculty director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center at the University of Oregon School of Law. She discusses with host Roberta Hall her book NATURE’S TRUST: ENVIRONMENTAL LAW FOR A NEW ECOLOGICAL AGE. It describes, in detail, the failure of statutory law to protect the environment. It presents the legal concept of the public trust, describing its history, its basis in law, and its many applications. Applied throughout history in many countries, the trust holds governmental agencies and elected officials accountable for protecting the earth and her resources, with beneficiaries being the public of today and of the future.

We speak with Lee Mercer of Health Care for All-Oregon on the Supreme Court upholding of the premium subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the major problems still remaining within the nation's health care system, We also discuss the movement for a single-payer health care system in Oregon.

Health Care for All Oregon is a coalition of over 100 organizationas working towards a single-payer health care system in Oregon. http://www.hcao.org

We speak with Kate Titus, executive director of Common Cause Oregon, and Dan Vicuña, National Redistricting Coordinator for Common Cause, about the US Supreme Court's Decision on redistricting, Oregon's efforts at redistricting and the Redistricting Reform Act of 2015.

We hear Radio Ecoshock with host Alex Smith. Today's program is titled "Sudden Heat." Dr. Robert Kopp explains why humans die in heat waves, and why that will get worse as climate change develops. Then the incredible Dr. Jeremy Leggett on "Winning the Carbon War" Plus climate music from Melody Sheep.

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Host Per Fagereng speaks with David Barsamian, the award-winning founder and director of Alternative Radio. He is the author of numerous books with Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Eqbal Ahmad, Tariq Ali, Arundhati Roy and Edward Said. His latest book is Occupy the Economy: Challenging Capitalism, co-authoed with prominent economist Richard Wolff.

David will talk about "Occupy Capitalism" and the root causes of the current economic crisis, the most severe since the Great Depression.

On Wednesday, March 14, appearing on Political Perspectives were Cameron Whitten, Christopher Rich, Bill Dant and Scott Fernandez. The one thing all four men have in common is that each one wants to be Portland's next Mayor.

Listen to the lively conversation that took place between the candidates and the callers.

We have everything we need to create a decent world, so why do we need rich investors to get good things done? In his book Sacred Economics, Charles Eisenstein tells how money stands in the way of human fulfillment.

Suzanne LaGrande interviews Dr. Joseph Bobrow, founder and president of the Coming Home Project. Started in 2005, the Coming Home™ Project is a non-profit organization devoted to providing expert, compassionate care, support, education, and stress management tools for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, service members, their families, and their service providers.

In this interview, Dr. Bobrow discusses some of the challenges that veterans and their families face, and especially the "invisible" physical as well as moral injuries or war.

Based in San Francisco, CA, the Coming Home Project creates a safe environment where veterans and their families can reconnect with each other and regain a sense of trust. He also talks about the importance of storytelling in a community of peers as a important part of what enables people to recover from trauma. For more information about Dr. Bobrow’s work and that of the Coming Home project visit: www.cominghomeproject.net

Per Fagereng hosts a discussion of current foreign affairs with Pepe Escobar of the "Asia Times."

Sue Supriano interviews S. Brian Willson and his partner Becky Luening about Brian's book "Blood on the Tracks" and their experiences during their recent book tour for "Blood on the Tracks."

S. Brian Willson is a Viet Nam veteran and trained lawyer whose wartime experiences transformed him into a revolutionary nonviolent pacifist. On September 1, 1987, Brian was run over and nearly killed by a US Navy Munitions train while engaging in a nonviolent blockade in protest of weapons shipments to El Salvador. Since the 1980s he has continued efforts to educate the public about the diabolical nature of US imperialism while striving to “walk his talk” (on two prosthetic legs and a three-wheeled handcycle) by creating a model of right livelihood including a simpler lifestyle.

Recent years have seen an explosion of male joblessness and a steep decline in men’s life prospects that have disrupted the “romantic market” in ways that narrow a marriage-minded woman’s options. Yet, this state of affairs also presents an opportunity: as the economy evolves, it’s time to embrace new ideas about romance and family—and to acknowledge the end of “traditional” marriage as society’s highest ideal.

That's a broad view from Kate Bolick's recent cover story in The Atlantic, 'All the Single Ladies' which Andrew Geller elaborated on when he spoke with her this morning.

Gentrification in Portland: A Special Program

As Portland becomes a destination for young creatives to find homes and work, minority communities are being "gentrified out" of the city. North and Northeast Portland have lost people of color as housing costs in those areas have increased.

Host Jennifer Kemp interviews local black community leaders Clifford Walker of the Oregon Commission for Black Affairs and Oregon State Representative Lew Frederick, whose district includes North and Northeast Portland, about the causes of gentrification and whether it is a normal part of the evolution is a normal part of the evolution of a city.

Comments

Please ask Mr. Naito if his love of democracy extends to his business. Would he be willing to turn his development firm into a employee run cooperative corporation, giving ownership and organizational rights to employees. Mr. Naito's concern for democracy probably ends at doors to his corporation. Mr. Naito looks at this battle to develop the Hood River riverfront property as a public realtions battle. He will promise the community jobs and the city council financial support, and the council will eye the property tax revenue as a benefit to the community. If he is successful, once again we will be selling our responsibility to the land and the river for a short term gain. Mr. Naito cares little for the community, but operates on greed. If the environmental laws and regulations were not in place he would not be concerned at all with the impact of his development on the river, the wild life, and the ability of people to enjoy what nature have given us for free.

Bravo for having this debate, though. And controlling the civility of the debate.